Newest Skill

I was going to title this "Newest Trick" but that sounds too much like i am referring to a dog, and I am not - I'm referring to Sam. Besides, these are things *I* love to do, and I'm teaching my son to do them, and it gives me great joy.
This is "Fishy Face." On cue, the cheeks go in, lips pucker out. How can you NOT like Fishy Face, even on your worst of days?...

Here Ye, Here Ye

I shall deem today "Samson Doth Droppeth Thee Crawling" day.

Well, okay, sure, if he's gotta get somewhere IN A HURRY (ya know, like his Blackberry told him about an important meeting), then he's gonna crawl. It's fast, he knows it well. BUT, he now realizes that he's dropped into a crawl, and decides against it only to stand back up and "grandpa step" it from Destination A to Destination B. I am thrilled! I have been waiting for this day.
I know, you seasoned parents out there will say "ah, she is such a fool." I know this means keeping up with him more, but for our family, it means less dog hair all over Sam's entire body. It means not having to carry him ALL THE TIME, now that he is getting so heavy (nearing 30 lbs). This is good.

My lil man is growing up... and i love watching him.

Lemme also toss this out there, right now, for the helluvit: Sam's gonna have a wicked left arm. He tosses his stuff with the throw of a pro. All with a yell too, of course! :-)

What the...

What is this in our front yard, and why has it survived several snow storms and meltings without budging?

Blue Man Group

This past Tuesday, Ron and i went to see "Blue Man Group" in Binghamton. We had heard from a few different folks on how good the show is, so we were pumped. We met up with our friend Jeff beforehand for some eats (burgers and wings) and brews (an awesome "went down a little too easy" White Belgian Ale). We got there almost 30 minutes late (but we found free parking!) and the show still hadn't begun. Once it did, it went right through; no intermission. The
Broome County Arena is pretty small - i had been there a couple times for some Jackals hockey games. So any seat was going to be a good one. Ironically enough, we sat where I would sit for the hockey games. The view was fine. The show was pretty audience-interactive, which can be fun and effective (10) or slightly hokey (1). This fell at about a 3.5. It always amuses me when words scroll across a screen telling the audience to do something, and they do it, then the next set of words says something like, "if you just did what we told you to do, then you are an idiot." Maybe i'm a wet noodle, but I almost always NEVER do what a performer "tells" me to do, let alone WORDS scrolling. So i found that funny. The PERFORMANCE of BMG
is mediocre. It was not nearly as MESMORIZING, visually, as i had hoped for. Their MUSIC, however, is rather good. It's very drum-based, and already right there, they've won me over. They also use a lot of, like, plastic plumbing piping (i'm sure there is a term for this stuff) which provides a very unique, slightly industrial sound, which I also like. Ron says he has a CD of their music around here somewhere... I'm going to have to remind him to find it. So all in all, we had a very good night together, the TWO of us, in celebration of his birthday (and mine, sorta) which was yesterday. Ron had to go to work on his actual birthday - oh well.

Holy Cabinet, Batman!

We have a new addition to the family. A very LARGE new addition.

No, it wasn't another almost 10 lb. baby (ha!). It is an 8 foot tall, 3+ feet wide armoire/entertainment unit. We did not purchase this (are you surprised?), but if we did, it would have easily cost us upwards of $600+. No, our neighbor is moving, and this armoire was custom-made for him by his girlfriend's uncle (or something like that) who is a furniture maker. This thing is SOLID. No fake wood here.

It was quite the CHALLENGE figuring out first how to get it in the house (which turned out to be a cinch) and how to stand it upright, and better yet, WHERE to put it. Our home's room design limits us greatly to large furniture. A sofa sectional is quite literally not an option.

After about 15 minutes of THINKING, and only about 30 seconds of elbow grease, we set it up in the corner of our first floor middle room. We've decided to put our stereo equipment and game systems inside. It works out really nicely, in fact. We haven't optimized the USAGE of the three large drawers yet, but I'll figure something out. Consolidation from OTHER places is key!

Check-up Time!

Sam had his 15 mo. check up yesterday and two shots of something in each leg (i can never keep up with those). His height is still literally off the chart and the nurse said that if he continues at this rate for the next year or so, it'll be a very good indication of his height as an adult, which would be TALL. She tossed out 6'2" or 6'3" and I just LOVE the thought of a tall son! Both Ron's dad and my dad were/are at those heights, so it's very possible. Time will tell. His weight still hangs around 50%-60% at 25.5 lbs. I could have sworn he was at least 30. I feel like the left side of my upper body is significantly bigger and a little muscle-lier (!) than the right.

I've been teaching Sam to make the satisfying "ahh" sound after taking a sip of drink. He did it on his own today while holding his Clifford cup with a little of my fruit smoothie. I just about lost it!!! I suppose now is REALLY the time to curb my sailor curses since he's proven he can pick something up lightening fast now. Hold on tight, folks... the ride is beginning!